The Time Machine by H. G. Wells was an intriguing and exciting book about a Time Traveller and his journey’s through time. In this book, the Traveller explained to a group of men who were discussing the nature of time that time was the fourth dimension; just like the three dimensions of space: length, width and height. The Traveller argued that since time was a dimension, then it stood to reason that people should be able to move along the time continuum, into the past or the future. Most of the men do not seem to believe the Traveller or his theory, but agreed that they would like to travel in time, and talked about what they would do if they could. To illustrate his point, the Time Traveller went and got a model of his time machine from his laboratory to demonstrate and later returned to detail the places, things and people he had seen in his travels with his working Time Machine. Throughout the story, the Time Traveller faced setbacks and challenges, but the book outlined how he persevered and pointed to the future mankind faced. …show more content…
In my opinion, The Time Machine was a well written, entertaining book; yet somber.
I enjoyed reading about the Traveller’s adventures, his meeting and relations with creatures from the future like the Morlock’s (underground dwellers) and the Eloi (similar to small, unintelligent children). The owner/caretaker relationship between the Morlock’s and the Eloi, although symbiotic in ways, hinted at the decline of the human race based upon events occurring in the Traveller’s current time. That made me wonder, or perhaps I missed it, if the author could have done more to explore how the doom and gloom ending could have been changed. The premise ultimately was that today doesn’t really matter, because humanity was doomed anyway. Another issue, that was a bit depressing, was that since no one really believed the Traveller’s stories of the future, they couldn’t learn from what was said by the
Traveller. The Time Traveller’s first-hand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era, the challenges he faced, and what today’s man had to look forward to in his own future made this book the type of science fiction that excites the imaginations of varying types of readers. There were enough creepy, dramatic moments within the story to keep me involved. In addition, the greater implications of what future life had to offer for the human race made the book a great mix of adventure, survival, and forecasting. I would recommend this book based on all the above. However, even if I had not enjoyed the book, I would recommend it simply for the fact that The Time Machine was one of the first modern science fiction books written, and it undoubtedly contributed to the science fiction genre of today. Weena was the story character that most stood out to me in this reading. Weena was an Eloi; not very smart, on the lazy side, but colorful and loveable like a child. After the Time Traveller saved Weena from drowning, Weena kept the Traveller company and tried to keep him safe. Weena had very little real ability to protect the Traveller, but she made the effort. Weena was the only Eloi that seemed to have the ability to display emotion for the Traveller, and appeared to be both grateful and oddly attached. There seemed to be a relationship between the Traveller and Weena; like a parent to a child. She was such an integral part of the story that the Time Traveller even considered bringing Weena back in time with him, so he could keep her from her fate; to be food for the Morlocks. Sadly, Weena was killed in a forest fire while trying to help the Traveller recover his stolen Time Machine from the Morlocks. Ironically, the Traveller seemed to find Weena’s death by fire preferable to her being food for the Morlocks. I believe that H. G. Wells purpose for writing this book was not only to entertain, but also was to tantalize readers by suggesting that time was the 4th dimension. If that were true, time would be almost tangible, and manageable. That opened the door to many possibilities for exploration and understanding. It also illustrated know valuable time was, and the importance of living before time “ran” out. H. G. Wells The Time Machine was an easily read story, despite its 1800’s language style, that kept me immersed in the tale. The doom, related to the future, I thought was sometimes distracting and over stated. I enjoyed the stories of adventure told by the Traveller and would have like to have seen stories incorporated from the past, instead of only the future. The thought of the real time travel, if science allowed, was intriguing. Much like today’s books and television shows on Big Foot, aliens and ghosts, The Time Machine had me asking, “What if?”
The ending of this book was a cliffhanger. In my opinion that is the worse kind of ending, but that’s how that writing persuades the reader to get the next book in the series. Without giving too much away about the end of the story, it was very unexpected. To be
I did not like the ending of the story. I found that the ending was very predictable and anticlimactic, especially when all the tension was being built up throughout the rest of the book. When I was nearing the end of the book I was already starting to envision the ending of the book and when I got to the end I was disappointed to see that I was correct. I would have preferred if the ending was more of a cliff-hanger and ended completely different than anyone would have expected.
it was his illusion of his ideal future that made time a key dimension in
By going back and forth between the time frames, the first being in the present and the second being in 800,000, H.G. Wells lets the reader know that the time traveller has made it back from the future by providing passages that prove he made it home, to the present, alive. However, during the time span of the novel, the time traveller from the future did not know that he was able to escape the future. This changes the point of view throughout the story, even though the main character doesn’t change. Because of the changes in the time frame, the time traveller in the present and the time traveller in the future can be considered different people. “Selecting a little side gallery, I made my essay. I never felt such a disappointment as I did in waiting five, ten, fifteen minutes for an explosion that never came. Of course the (dynamite sticks) were dummies, as I might have guessed from their presence. I really believe that, had they not been so, I should have rushed off incontinently and blown Sphinx, bronze doors, and (as it proved) my chances of finding the Time Machine, all together into nonexistence.” In this excerpt, the time traveller is speaking of his own adventure after coming back from the future. However, he makes it sound as if he were in the future. By putting interjections into the story, he changes up the storyline
Timeline by Michael Crichton, was a very exciting book about time travel and what the 'Dark Ages'; were like. Timeline also taught about the basics of quantum physics that would make it possible to achieve such a spectacular feat. Be prepared as you read this book to leap into the horrible, dangerous would of the year 1387.
In The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, the Time Traveller first visits the year 802,701, where Wells begins to establish that humanity has split into two opposite and startling sub-species, the Eloi and the Morlocks, similar to “modern” humans. After his associations with the Eloi and finally outsmarting the Morlocks, the Time Traveller escapes millions of years into the future to a period devoid of human life, and once more after that to see the final devolution of man. With these experiences centuries into the future, it is clear Wells does not possess an optimistic outlook on his interpretations of the future, but rather one of regression. Wells’ idea that humanity is doomed to devolution and eventual extinction is shown through the
I was definitely looking forward to the end of the book, not because I wanted to finish it, but because from the beginning Wright discusses that the end is about the tomorrow, while the entirety of the other parts of the book discusses the yesterday. I find myself always wrapped up in the tomorrow instead of the yesterday, but I am very fortunate to have read the addressing questions that Wright brings up in the book. I can now reflect on the comprehensible challenge that Wright presents – Jesus reigns in and through people.
Once the Time Traveler returns only one person believes the event that have unfolded. No one takes action to stop this future from happening and the Time Traveler disappears into the future never to be heard from again. The ending is meant to force the reader to think about whether they believe the problems that Wells wrote about, and if they will do anything. “The Day of an American Journalist in 1889” by Jules Verne depicts a utopia in the future that contrasts The Time Machine. The singular parallel is their failure to prolong the life of humanity. The narrator states after the failure of the experiment “As for yet no means has been found of increasing the length of the terrestrial year” (Verne 14). The terrestrial year stands for the longevity of the human race and they cannot change that. Whether there is a de-evolution or a creation of a utopia no one can stop time. These ideas tie into Asimov's idea of reactions of humans to scientific advancement, or lack thereof. One future is depicted as a Utopia and the other as a Dystopia but both fail in prolonging humanity's existence, which illustrates the need for many people to take action despite the odds. The end result is the reader forms a new perspective, that is the point of a time travel
After reading this well developed and written book, my way of thinking about the future was altered to a new world of ideas about the different angles we can see the future. I read this book twice during the summer because I knew I could find new things every time. The way The Time Traveller sees the future it's very open minded and astonishing. I am a person who always saw the future as just months passing by and technology developing, but from a scientific perspective we can expect things never even thought of, for example new types of creatures like in the book Morlocks and Eloi, we can even go farther with humankind living in multiple planets. The Time Machine is for people who really have a good imagination and are open minded, I say this because a person without those qualities would stop reading in the first page. The Time Machine is a great book.
When the time traveler thought of the future he made assumptions that would suggest that the in the future, society would act in a progressive manner. He believed that society would be free of disease, that the human species would be very advanced compared to the humans in his time, and that the human beings in this society would not know fear because of their advances in technology. These assumptions are soon proven false early on when the time traveler thought he “…had built the time machine in vain” (21). The Sphinx puts pressure on a progressive time by suggesting that society does not progress all the time but will eventually regress.
During the late Victorian Britain, H.G. Wells became a literary spokesperson for liberal optimism and social reform. His scientific knowledge and literary capabilities led him to be one of the fore fathers of modern science fiction. In his novel The Time Machine, Wells, knowledgeable on the teachings of Charles Darwin and those of the Fabian Society, attempts to warn society that the brutality of capitalism and the plight of the laborer are not dealt with through social reforms then humanity will drive itself to extinction.
Time Travel has always struck close to the imagination of the minds. From H.G. Wells ' "The Time Machine" to blockbuster films like "Back to the Future" - for years, time travel was the stuff of science fiction and crazy-eyed mad men but as physicists approach the subject of time travel with new advances in scientific theories and equipment, the possibility of time travel has become a more legitimate field for scientific endeavours. This paper will argue the possibility of time travel and the positive effects that this discovery will bring forth to modern day society: technological advancements.
changed for the worst, really leaves the readers pondering on one thought; in the journey
The Time Machine. The Time Machine Coursework Most of the story "The Time Machine" is written in first person. narrator. The narrator is a narrator.